News

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russian officials will not prevent athletes from competing under a neutral flag in the 2018 Winter Olympics — putting to rest the possibility Russia would boycott the games in response to the International Olympic Committee’s move to ban the country on Tuesday, according to ABC News.

Putin said Russia was partly to blame for the ban but then quickly said it was not fair and was not based on concrete evidence, the report said.

On Tuesday, the IOC’s executive committee banned Russia from the games in Pyeongchang, South Korea in February, in response to a doping scandal, the report said. This decision means Russian athletes can’t compete under their national team colors and their anthem will not be allowed to play.